Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Rich Man and Lazarus, Part 28 of 28
READER # 1: If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.
READER # 2: But you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs...
READER # 1: For the poor will never cease from the land’; therefore I command you, saying, “You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 11)
READER # 2: And if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
READER # 1: You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. (Leviticus 25:35-38)
Reader # 2: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
READER # 1: And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard.
READER # 2: you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:9-10)
READER # 1: Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
READER # 2: The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth. (Psalm 41:1-2)
READER # 1: Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.
READER # 2: Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3-4)
READER # 1: Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard. (Proverbs 21:13)
READER # 2: He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 17:5)
READER # 1: The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of them all . . .
READER # 2: He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor . . .
READER #1: He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty. (Proverbs 22:2, 9, 16)
READER # 2: Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, which they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:1)
READER # 1: When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues fail for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (Isaiah 41:17)
READER # 2: The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes, saying: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.”
READER # 1: “What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the faces of the poor?” says the Lord God of hosts. (Isaiah 3:14-15)
READER # 2: God will judge the people with righteousness and the poor with justice.
READER # 1: He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor . . .
READER # 2: For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper.
READER # 1: He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy.
READER # 2: He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight. (Psalm 72:2, 4, 12-14)
READER # 1: Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother.
READER # 2: Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” (Zechariah 7:9-10)
(Begin New Testament passages)
READER # 1: Then Jesus lifted up His eyes toward His disciples and said, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
READER # 2: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.”
READER # 1: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh . . .”
READER # 2: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”
READER # 1: “Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.”
READER # 2: “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”
READER # 1: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:20-26)
READER # 2: And Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
READER # 1: Then He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.”
READER # 2: And he thought within himself saying, “What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?”
READER # 1: So he said, “1 will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.”
READER # 2: And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry.”
READER # 1: But God said to him, “You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”
READER # 2: “So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
READER # 1: And Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.”
READER # 2: “Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.”
READER # 1: “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.”
READER # 2: “Of how much more value are you than the birds?” (Luke 12:15-24)
READER # 1: Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
READER # 2: And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
READER # 1: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
READER # 2: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows . . .
READER # 1: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
READER # 2: Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19)
READER # 1: If there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
READER # 2: Listen, my beloved brethren: has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.
READER # 1: Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name, by which you are called?
READER # 2: If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
READER # 1: But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:2-10)
READER # 2: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
READER # 1: Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire . . .
READER # 2: You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
READER # 1: Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. (James 5: l-7a)
READER # 2: When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
READER # 1: All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
READER # 2: And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
READER # 1: Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food;
READER # 2: I was thirsty and you gave Me drink;
READER # 1: I was a stranger and you took Me in;
READER # 2: I was naked and you clothed Me;
READER # 1: I was sick and you visited Me;
READER # 2: I was in prison and you came to Me.”
READER # 1: Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?”
READER # 2: “When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?”
READER # 1: “Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?”
READER # 2: And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
READER # 1: Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food;
READER # 2: I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
READER # 1: I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.”
READER # 2: Then they also will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?”
READER # 1: Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”
READER # 2: And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46)
